US State Department Cancels Over 750 Visas in Birth Tourism Crackdown Since August 12
- The US State Department launched a dedicated task force on August 12 targeting birth tourism networks operating across multiple countries
- Consular officers are working with international partners and law enforcement to identify travel patterns linked to birth tourism fraud
- President Trump publicly condemned the practice, and officials warned that visa revocations are expected to rise sharply in the coming period
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The United States State Department has revoked more than 750 visas as part of a coordinated international operation targeting birth tourism networks, with officials warning the figure is set to climb significantly.
State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott disclosed the scale of the crackdown to Fox News on Monday, August 24, 2026, confirming that a dedicated task force was established on August 12 at the direction of President Donald Trump. Consular officers have been deployed alongside international partners and law enforcement agencies to identify travel patterns associated with the practice.
How Birth Tourism Works
Birth tourism involves foreign nationals travelling to the United States primarily to give birth, enabling their child to acquire US citizenship under birthright provisions. Once the child reaches the age of 21, they are legally entitled to petition for their parents' immigration status, making the arrangement financially and legally attractive to families abroad.
A commercial industry has grown around this practice, with facilitators marketing packages that guide clients through the process while disguising their services as legitimate healthcare offerings.
**Investigators Flag Suspicious Patterns**
Pigott described one case in which a woman entered the country on a tourist visa, presenting herself as a short-term holidaymaker. Investigators grew suspicious after noticing that her partner, residing outside the United States, made repeated visits to her during what appeared to be the final weeks of her pregnancy.
"That was an indication that this was actually a birth tourism effort here, and we were able to take action to revoke those visas," Pigott said.
He also cited advertising materials that explicitly promoted "a world without borders" and "automatic guaranteed citizenship," marketed under the guise of healthcare services.
"In reality, that is fraud," Pigott said. "These networks are set up in the United States and then further coach these individuals on how to not pay their medical bills. So you have fraud when you enter the United States and then the American taxpayer is left footing the bill."
**Trump Calls Practice a 'Disgrace'**
President Trump weighed in publicly, condemning the commercialisation of birthright citizenship and signalling the administration's intention to tighten enforcement further.
"We're making adjustments because it's very unfair," Trump said. "They're building businesses around birthright citizenship. That's not the way it was supposed to work. It's a disgrace. They're buying their way in, and we're not going to let it happen."
Pigott framed the operation as part of the Trump administration's wider immigration security agenda, arguing that the preceding administration had allowed systemic abuse of legal immigration channels, a period during which an estimated 10 million people entered the United States without authorisation.
The State Department confirmed that the number of visa revocations is expected to rise sharply in the near term as the task force expands its operations.
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Source: YEN.com.gh
